Where’s Tim? Tracking Tim in Google Earth

May 1, 2006

There’s a popular web site called “Where’s Tim?” which follows the places a guy named Tim Hibbard is going: live in Google Earth or Google Maps. Tim is using a phone with GPS. As he moves he leaves a trail of where he’s been, or you can load a history for a given day. Some people wouldn’t like this kind of scrutiny. But, Tim works for a company called EnGraph which sells GPS tracking software. So, it is good marketing for his employer.
Tim also has had a simple “Fly To with Google Earth” which shows a placemark of his current location on the satellite photos in GE. I sent him some E-mails and suggested he try using a GE network link to follow him interactively, and I suggested he allow history paths to be shown in Google Earth as well. He has already implemented both.
Here is the Where’s Tim GE network link (he comments here) which updates once every 15 seconds. If you click on the Placemark you get his location and current speed (if he is moving).

If you are on the Where’s Tim main page, you will see a place to enter a date to “Get History” on the lower left. After you enter a date and hit “Go” you get an option below the date to “View History in Google Earth”. This will load his track for a given date. Here’s today’s path for example. By the way, Tim is kind of easy to find because he lives and works in Lawrence, Kansas – the default location Google Earth starts with. via GoogleMapsMania which also links to another person being tracked with Google Maps.
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About Frank Taylor

Frank Taylor started the Google Earth Blog in July, 2005 shortly after Google Earth was released. He worked in 3D graphics for many years and was very impressed with this exciting product. Frank left in 2009 to circumnavigate the earth by sailboat as part of the Tahina Expedition.

I believe such a technology is here today. However, I wonder how much is the cost of having such a service will be?
Moreover, who would want to be tracked by another, especially when it concerns personal privacy.

If many people register with such a tracking service, choose to make their location public, and this info is combined with the recent release of sketchup free by google, we can pretty soon have a good approximation of Real-life Sims(tm). Dave – http://www.commentsovernews.com

Google has laid the ground work for the new world and given us the tools to detail our own surroundings. They just need to add the spark of life to the environment, and that will come when they harness the countless unused GPS chips in phones. A year ago they bought the talent (AKA a company) to produce such a spark – http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/aug2005/tc20050817_0949_tc024.htm

“I believe such a technology is here today. However, I wonder how much is the cost of having such a service will be?”
Maybe a little off topic but here is a prepaid service similar to what Tim is doing here. This service runs $6.00 dollars/monthhttp://mologogo.com

Yet another reason to NOT have a cell phone…….I can understand having a GPS chip in a cell phone, but the owner should have the option of turning the darn thing off, should he desire to do so.
This is so Orwellian it makes me shudder. The ability to track someone, unbeknownst, and from the other side of the planet, no less, reminds of the audio and video recording devices, used in “1984”, that were everywhere, even in the far woods and fields, allowing the government to track any “citizen” (ie., slave, really). I hope that people realize what they are getting themselves into by just shrugging their shoulders with an “oh, well”, and not fighting this type of intrusion into their privacy.
Count me out……

Incongito in Indiana,
You do have the option of turning it off. In every CDMA cell phone that has GPS, there is a menu option with three settings: 1) Disable location information, 2) Enable location information for emergency calls only (i.e. 911), and 3) Enable location information for all calls.
If you find it scary and Orwellian, turn it off, or at least turn it so only 911 operators can see where you are.

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